Because many traits and conditions are the result of combinations of genes and environment, we see a wide range of variation for most traits in the population. (ashg.org)
They showed that although these genomes are separate physical entities, the mitochondrial genome affects the evolution of the nuclear genome, the genetic material responsible for variations in most traits such as hair color and height. (sciencedaily.com)
Pugh added that the implications of this research could represent one step towards solving the problem of «missing heritability» — a concept that describes how most traits, including many diseases, can not be accounted for by individual genes and seem to have their origins in regions of the genome that do not code for proteins. (sciencedaily.com)